This invention relates to panic exit devices for securing or latching a door to a door frame while at the same time providing egress from those doors by pushing the panic exit device. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for retaining the panic exit device in an unlatched condition to prevent wear and increase convenience during periods where the latching of the door upon closure is not desired.
Doors in high use passageways are often provided with latching mechanisms which upon closure of the doors latch the doors in a closed position. Each time the doors open the latch must be released and as a result, the locking or securing mechanisms for these doors can quickly wear out.
Many high use doors are equipped with locks operated by so-called panic bars or panic exit devices. These bars or devices are mounted on one face of the door and when pressed in the direction of the door cause the door to open in that direction. They are most often found in public buildings such as schools. Some of these devices are provided with dogging mechanisms to hold their latch bolts in an open position so that the latch mechanisms will not have to be operated each time the doors open. Custodial personnel can set the dogging mechanisms before business hours and then release them after business hours so that during the period the doors are used most, the latch mechanisms are not operated. Dogging mechanisms of this nature can be a set screw which when tightened bear against one of the operating parts of the lock and holds the latch bolt in the open position. Setting such dogging mechanisms is a time consuming procedure and requires a special tool to so activate.
The present invention is a dogging device which can be utilized with panic exit devices such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,047 to Zawadzki, or U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,238 to Zawadzki, or U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,574 to Zawadzki, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,280 to Godec et al., or U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,988 to Betts et al.
Other prior art dogging devices include manual lock-type doggers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,238 or U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,145, or set screw-type doggers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,763 or rotating levers which engage or disengage stop depending on angular position of rotation such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,590 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,490, or U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,163. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,873,141 and 3,945,670 disclose dogging means which can be controlled from a remote location, such dogging means operable electrically or pneumatically. These latter two patents disclose latching dogs having latching bosses which can protrude beneath vertically operable latching mechanicals to prevent downward retraction of the mechanicals, which prevents latching of the door.